Spell Bound

OMG I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! F.T. Lukens does it again! This book was spectacular. If I could have given this more than 5 stars, I would have. While this wasn’t quite what I expected, it did not disappoint. Rook and Sun were the absolute best main characters. I’m a sucker for grumpy x sunshine. They had me laughing, crying, and feeling all the feels. I do wish that we learned a little more about Sun and their background, but that’s more of a personal preference. It wasn’t needed to enjoy the story, but I loved Sun so much that I would’ve liked to know more about them. Rook easily became a lovable character. He was amazing all throughout the book. I was rooting for him the entire time. The storyline flowed perfectly and was very well written. I adore F.T. Lukens writing style, it is enjoyable and easy to read. Overall, I would like to reread this immediately because I am now severely attached to these characters (especially Antonia because she’s so cool). I highly recommend everyone to give this book a shot.

Cute!! Rook and Sun's dynamic was well written and I also enjoyed the overall setting and the world-building. The writing fell a little into the trap of overexplaining / stating things clearly (think the way "Heartstopper" likes to do) which I feel like is more of a reflection of current trends than a flaw in the writing. I suspect it is the kind of thing that goes down well with younger readers so I do not necessary fault it for that - I recognise that I am at least 10 years past the target audience for this but it did affect my reading experience.

thank you to margeret k mcelderry books, simon and schuster children’s publishing, and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

“you” i said.
“me” they said.

Y’ALL this book. this mother f-ing book. it was exactly what i needed right now. after a few recent flops, i needed something quick, something fun, something that would tug at the heartstrings. and this did all that and more.

now it’s no secret that i’ve adored f.t. lukens’ two predecessors to spell bound. and of course, when you have an author that is quickly and easily becoming an all time favorite, you always worry that their next release will live up to hype. all that worry was truly for nothing. something, some specific way f.t. lukens has with their books, it just grabs me by the collar and immerses me deeply into their worlds. from the first page, i was hooked. rook’s opening interactions with antonia, it felt so real to me, so raw, and it only got better from there.

we followed rook through their beginning stages working their way (back) into the magical world. trying to prove himself, doing whatever it took. we saw him bond with sun (sun, my sweet summer child we’ll get back to you soon, i promise). we saw him grow his skills as an “office staff”. we saw this little found family fight for each other and for what’s right. i cannot say how much i loved being mostly in rook’s footsteps. seeing his determination first hand. the sunshine to sun’s grump. i just, i have no words for how truly deeply i felt for rook.

on to sun, the grump with a heart full of love, buried deep down. sun, my short enby royalty who wears all black and hates to be touched by others without specific consent and only by certain people. are you me?? like truly, i cannot believe how much i saw them and was like, holy shit, that’s me. am i bit more outgoing, maybe? but only as a survival mechanism (haha kidding… sort of). i just, i love sun so deeply. they see things no others can, literally and figuratively, and they deserve all the love from those around them.

i loved this queernormative, urban fantastical world. i loved these characters and how they interacted. their humor. and i especially loved rook and sun, they own a special little place in my heart, tucked neatly alongside f.t. lukens’ other pairings. and i wish i had more of this world. more of this little group, doing the mundane magical things.

i didn’t know much about what this book was about going into it, just that there was magic. and beyond that i didn’t need to. i trust this author with my time. i know that i can open a door into their worlds and get lost in it. and with spell bound, i can easily push f.t. lukens into an all time favorite authors list. i wholeheartedly (and very impatiently) cannot wait to see what’s next. next for their books and for them.